Woman Explains Exactly How To Tell If Your Boss Is Spying On You
Be careful what you say about your job on online platforms, because your boss can easily access it.
@gabrielle_judge / TikTok, Inside Creative House / Shutterstock A woman has issued a warning to employees who use remote channels at their jobs, including Slack and Microsoft Teams, and now many people are double-checking their work computers to ensure that their messages were appropriate.
The woman revealed how your boss can “spy” on their employees at work and read all of your online conversations with your colleagues.
Bosses can ‘spy’ on their employees and access private messages on Slack and Microsoft Teams that employees use to communicate with one another.
Gabrielle Judge, a woman on TikTok who posts many videos detailing useful information we may not know about corporate America, shared how employers can access their employees’ private messages on online platforms such as Slack and Microsoft Teams.
As remote work has increased throughout the years, online platforms such as Slack and Microsoft Teams, spaces where employees can connect with and message each other, have been on the rise. However, this is not necessarily a good thing, as now, employers have the opportunity to monitor their employees' activity across these online spaces if needed.
“Your boss is absolutely spying on you,” Judge warned employees, specifically those who work remotely. “Especially if you use Slack. Any Slack admin at your organization can export messages from public channels.”
Judge included a screenshot of research that confirms her statements. Additionally, employers can request access to any private Slack chats employees may have.
Photo: TikTok / @gabrielle_judge
So, how do you know if your employee is spying on you and reading your messages?
Judge shared a URL that you can click into and follow instructions to find out. Slack also has an “activity dashboard” that depicts how many messages each member has sent and which channels are the most active.
Judge admitted that she used to check the URL to uncover if her employers were looking at her Slack messages at one of her previous jobs. She also warned employees that even if they use Microsoft Teams and not Slack, they were still not safe.
“All of the data they store [is] easily accessible,” Judge explained, sharing a screenshot of everything employers can monitor on their employee’s devices, including data gathered from Microsoft Teams.
Photo: TikTok / @gabrielle_judge
Judge encouraged employees to create other spaces or to discuss work issues in person if they do not want their boss to find out.
Judge offered employees her advice when it comes to using remote channels that your boss can easily access and view your conversations. “Never say or write anything that you wouldn’t want everyone else to find out,” she said. “If you have those coworkers that you’re really tight with and you want to talk off record about some stuff, get your own Slack.”
If colleagues get together to create their own free workspace on the platform, one of them can be appointed as the administrator and can control who comes in and out of the channel.
Judge also informed people about a separate platform called “Slack Connect,” but claimed that this is not 100% reliable and that your boss may be able to access it. “Thanks to the rise of remote working and the great resignation this is now a thing,” she captioned her video.
As for how your boss can access employees’ Microsoft Teams messages, Judge posted a follow-up video explaining how they monitor your activity.
According to Judge’s research, which she revealed a screenshot of, your boss can view various actions on Microsoft Teams, including all of their employees' one on one chats, group chats, and meeting chats, any chats you have deleted, all meetings that you have attended or joined, and much more.
Judge encouraged employees to be mindful of everything they are doing while on the job, especially if they work remotely since advanced technology has allowed people to access more than we could ever imagine.
However, she added that your boss likely is not spying on you as often as you may fear. Like their employees, they also have to stay on top of their work throughout the day and do not have time to focus on what their employees are doing on Slack and Microsoft Teams.
“Normally your boss isn’t just sitting there reading your stuff all day, I promise,” she said, noting that her information applies to those in “toxic” work environments with a micro-managing employer.
Judge pointed out that employee surveillance laws vary by state, and that it is important to understand your employee rights based on your specific area. For now, it is probably best to keep your work complaints to yourself if you work remotely.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.